Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T21:02:33.375Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impulsive behavior in adults with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder: Characterization of attentional, motor and cognitive impulsiveness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2007

L. MALLOY-DINIZ ,
D. FUENTES ,
W. BORGES LEITE ,
H. CORREA  and
A. BECHARA
L. MALLOY-DINIZ
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Neurosciences Research Group, Health Sciences School, FUMEC University, Bairro São Lucas, Brazil. GEDAHI, Research Group on Learning, Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders (Grupo de Estudos dos Distúrbios da Aprendizagem, Atenção e Hiperatividade) Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
D. FUENTES
Affiliation:
Psychology & Neuropsychology Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital, Medical School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
W. BORGES LEITE
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology and Neurosciences Research Group, Health Sciences School, FUMEC University, Bairro São Lucas, Brazil. GEDAHI, Research Group on Learning, Attention and Hyperactivity Disorders (Grupo de Estudos dos Distúrbios da Aprendizagem, Atenção e Hiperatividade) Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
H. CORREA
Affiliation:
Mental Health Department, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
A. BECHARA
Affiliation:
Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity. Impulsivity persists in adults with ADHD and might be the basis of much of the impairment observed in the daily lives of such individuals. The objective of this study was to address the presence, and more importantly, the three dimensions of impulsivity: attentional, non-planning and motor, in how they may relate to neuropsychological mechanisms of impulse control. We studied a sample of 50 adults with ADHD and 51 healthy comparison controls using the Barratt Impulsivity Scale Version 11 (BIS), and neuropsychological tasks, namely the Continuous Performance Task (CPT-II) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). The ADHD group showed more signs of impulsivity on the three dimensions of BIS, committed more errors of omission and commission on the CPT-II, and made more disadvantageous choices on the IGT. These results support the existence of deficits related to three components of impulsivity: motor, cognitive, and attentional among adults with ADHD. Most importantly, this study also highlights the complementary nature of self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological tasks in the assessment of impulsivity in ADHD adults. (JINS, 2007, 13, 693–698.)

Keywords

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderDecision makingImpulsivenessInhibitory ControlIowa Gambling TaskBarratt Impulsivity Scale
Type
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , July 2007 , pp. 693 - 698
Copyright
© 2007 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Babinski, L.M., Hartsough, C.S., & Lambert, N.M. (1999). Childhood conduct problems, hyperactivity-impulsivity, and inattention as predictors of adult criminal activity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 347–355.Google Scholar
Barkley, R.A. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions: Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121, 65–94.Google Scholar
Bechara, A., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A.R. (2000a). Emotion, decision and the orbitofrontal cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 10, 295–307Google Scholar
Bechara, A., Tranel, D., & Damasio, H. (2000b). Characterization of the decision-making deficit of patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions. Brain, 123, 2189–2202.Google Scholar
Bechara, A. & Van Der Linden, M. (2005). Decision-making and impulse control after frontal lobe injuries. Current Opinion in Neurology, 18, 734–739.Google Scholar
Biederman, J. & Faraone, S.V. (2005a). What is the prevalence of adult ADHD? Results of a population Screen of 966 adults. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9, 384–391.Google Scholar
Biederman, J. & Faraone, S.V. (2005b). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Lancet, 366, 237–248.Google Scholar
Biederman, J., Mick, E., & Faraone, S. (2000). Age-dependent decline of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Impact of remission definition and symptom type. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 816–818.Google Scholar
Epstein, J.N., Erkanli, A., Conners, C.K., Klaric, J., Costello, J.E., & Angold, A. (2003). Relations between Continuous Performance Test performance measures and ADHD behaviors. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 543–554.Google Scholar
Ernst, M., Kimes, A.S., London, E.D., Matochik, J.A., Eldreth, D., Tata, S., Contoreggi, C., Leff, M., & Bolla, K. (2003a). Neural substrates of decision-making in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1061–1070.Google Scholar
Ernst, M., Grant, S.J., London, E.D., Contoreggi, C.S., Kimes, A.S., & Spurgeon, L. (2003b). Decision making in adolescents with behavior disorders and adults with substance abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 33–40.Google Scholar
Fuentes, D., Tavares, H., Artes, R., & Gorenstein, C. (2006). Self-reported and neuropsychological measures of impulsivity in pathological gambling. Journal of International Neuropsychology Society, 12, 907–912.Google Scholar
Garon, N., Moore, C., & Waschbusch, D.A. (2006). Decision-making in children with ADHD only, ADHD-anxious/depressed, and control children using a child version of the Iowa Gambling Task. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9, 607–619.Google Scholar
Hervey, A.S., Epstein, J.N., & Curry, J.F. (2004). Neuropsychology of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analytic review. Neuropsychology, 18, 485–503.Google Scholar
McGough, J.J. & Barkley, R.A. (2004). Diagnostic controversies in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1948–1956.Google Scholar
Moeller, F.G., Barratt, E.S., Dougherty, D.M., Schmitz, J.M., & Swann, A.C. (2001). Psychiatric aspects of impulsivity. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1783–1793.Google Scholar
Nigg, J.T., Stavro, G., Ettenhofer, M., Hambrick, D.Z., Miller, T., & Henderson, J.M. (2005). Executive functions and ADHD in adults: Evidence for selective effects on ADHD symptom domains. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 114, 706–717.Google Scholar
Patton, J.H., Stanford, M.S., & Barratt, E.S. (1995). Factor structure of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51, 768–774.Google Scholar
Rogers, R.D., Tunbridge, E.M., Bhagwagar, Z., Drevets, W.C., Sahakian, B.J., & Carter, C.S. (2003). Tryptophan depletion alters the decision-making of healthy volunteers through altered processing of reward cues. Neuropsychopharmacology, 28, 153–162.Google Scholar
Sheehan, D.V., Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, K.H., Amorim, P., Janavs, J., Weiller, E., Hergueta, T., Baker, R., & Dunbar, G.C. (1998). The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): the development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 59, 22–33.Google Scholar
Toplak, M.E., Jain, U., & Tannock, R. (2005). Executive and motivational processes in adolescents with Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Behavioral and Brain Function, 27, 1–8.Google Scholar
Whiteside, S.P. & Lynam, D.R. (2001). The five factor model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 669–689.Google Scholar
Willcutt, E.G., Doyle, A.E., Nigg, J.T., Faraone, S.V., & Pennington, B.F. (2005). Validity of the executive function theory of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analytic review. Biological Psychiatry, 57, 1336–1346.Google Scholar
Zermatten, A., Van der Linden, M., d'Acremont, M., Jermann, F., & Bechara A. (2005). Impulsivity and decision-making. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 193, 647–650.Google Scholar